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BOX SCORE
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Philadelphia coach Bill Barber spent the
past day agonizing over whether to put defenseman Andy Delmore into
the Flyers' lineup.
|  | | Andy Delmore tips in the winning goal past Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek. |
He did, and Delmore delivered Monday night -- proving once again
what an important playoff performer he is.
With the Flyers down two games to none in a first-round playoff
series against the Buffalo Sabres, Delmore broke a tie with nine
minutes left, leading the Flyers to a 3-2 victory.
"Call it lucky, call it what you want, I guess, I don't
know," Barber said. "Having Delly in tonight rewarded our team
with a win. He came up with obviously a big goal for us."
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night at Buffalo.
All three games of the series have been decided by one goal.
"It was really sweet," Delmore said. "From not playing the
first two games to being able to help the team out and get a
victory. What more can you ask for?"
Delmore didn't find out he was playing -- in place of Chris
McAllister, who struggled defensively in Saturday's 4-3 overtime
loss -- until about 90 minutes before game time.
"I was excited," added Delmore, who's been known to produce in
the playoffs before.
Last year, with the Flyers trailing Pittsburgh 2-0 in a
second-round series, Delmore scored in overtime in Game 3 and then
scored three times in Game 5 as Philadelphia eventually beat the
Penguins in six games.
Monday, Delmore's goal came off the second of two blatant Sabres
turnovers.
Flyers forward Daymond Langkow intercepted Rhett Warrener's poor
clearing attempt inside the Buffalo blue line. Langkow wristed the
puck at the net where Delmore deflected it over the right shoulder
of goalie Dominik Hasek.
"With less than 10 minutes to play, it's not a play you should
try to make," Warrener said. "I didn't do it, and it kind of
hurts right now."
Kent Manderville and Simon Gagne also scored for the Flyers, who
had lost the first two games at home. Roman Cechmanek stopped 26
shots to record his first playoff victory.
Chris Gratton and Steve Heinze scored for the Sabres, who have defeated the Flyers only once in six meetings in the playoffs.
"We had three times the puck under control and we made
turnovers. Our turnvovers made the difference," said Hasek, who
faced only 19 shots. "They had only a few chances and they scored
goals."
"We got a little reckless in the second and third period,"
added coach Lindy Ruff. "We had six or seven great chances and we
made two big mistakes -- two turnovers."
Manderville's goal, which tied it 1-1 just 2:37 into the second
period, came after he intercepted Donald Audette's clearing attempt
through the middle of the ice.
After Heinze put the Sabres up 2-1 two minutes later, Gagne tied
it again by slapping in a rebound off Keith Primeau's shot that
bounced off the post.
Primeau was playing his first game after missing three weeks
with a sprained left knee.
"As important as this game was for us, it's nullified if we
don't come ready to compete tomorrow," said Primeau, who didn't
back down from a hard-hitting style. "I expected to be bumped
early, bumped often. ... The one good thing for me, the more times
I got hit, the more my confidence grew."
Game notes
The Flyers went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Sabres
scored twice on three opportunities. ... Sabres center Erik Rasmussen,
day-to-day with a slightly separated right shoulder, was replaced
by left wing Vladimir Tsyplakov, a healthy scratch in the first two games.
... The Sabres are 12-22 against the Flyers in the playoffs, 7-8 at
Buffalo. ... With temperatures in Buffalo ranging between 30 and
80 degrees over the past week, the Sabres set up four large
dehumidifiers outside HSBC Arena.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Buffalo Clubhouse
Sabres-Flyers Series Page
Rasmussen out, Primeau back for tonight
RECAPS
Pittsburgh 3
Washington 0
Toronto 3
Ottawa 2
Philadelphia 3
Buffalo 2
St. Louis 6
San Jose 3
Colorado 4
Vancouver 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Philadelphia's Andy Delmore tips in the puck for the game-winner.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Chris Gratton gets the rebound and stuffs the puck under the pads of Roman Cechmanek.
avi: 881 k
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Keith Primeau's shot hits the post, but Simon Gagne it there to score on the putback.
avi: 1098 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Steve Heinze battles in front of the net and is rewarded with an easy goal.
avi: 1032 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Kent Manderville skates in front of the clearing pass and makes the Sabres pay.
avi: 1038 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Andy Delmore joins ESPN's Steve Levy and Darren Pang to discuss his winning goal.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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